Footfalls Echoed In Their Memory
by Danga1984
Summary: Set three years after 'Déjà vu', Finn and Rachel go out on a date. An old friend conjures up memories they both never wanted to revisit.
1. Chapter 1

Finn Hudson knew by the look on his wife's face that she was upset. Actually she wasn't upset; she was pissed with a capital P. He could tell by the way her jaw was set and her right foot has not stopped moving since he screwed things up. It would bounce up and down in the air while she was sitting on the couch by the fireplace or it would tap softly against the hardwood floor while they were standing. He could also tell she was pissed because she kept playing with the hem of her blouse and she would twist the buttons of her coat with her fingers while she was talking. He tried to catch her eye, but it was no use. Rachel Berry was one scary lady when she was angry and he definitely didn't like it when her anger was directed at him.

It was their first official night out together without their two year old daughter, Ellie, in tow. Rachel was so nervous to leave her alone with his mother, Carole, and stepfather, Burt, but Finn convinced her to come with him to a work function that he needed to attend. He was banking on a raise and a possible promotion soon, so he knew schmoozing with his boss and the other cohorts at the company was a very good move in his favor. He went as far as promising her that every Friday for the next two months, he would take her and Ellie out anywhere they wanted to go in the city. Rachel agreed after much contemplation and even presented Finn with a meticulously planned list of activities that made Finn barely stifle a groan. She smiled sweetly at him before kissing him quickly and running out of the room before she could hear his protests. He sighed, realizing he made a deal with the devil.

The night seemed to be going as smooth as honey. It has been so long since Finn has been in a room with just adults; he ironically was as excited as a kid hopped up on sugar. He couldn't stop talking, moving, hell he couldn't stop smiling. Finn mingled with most of his coworkers and had Rachel at his side, chatting away with the other females or putting in a few comments here and there when the guys were talking about something that piqued her interest. She did seem to noticeably perk up when Finn's boss, Mark, started talking about a new Broadway play that was starting up soon. Finn smiled at his wife and pulled her closer to his side, including her in the conversation. Mark smiled at Rachel softly before speaking directly to her.

"So Rachel, Finn tells me you're quite a singer. He even told me that you've been in a few plays here and there."

She smiled graciously before speaking. "Well Finn has told you the truth. I was involved in a few off-Broadway plays before our daughter, Ellie, was born. I took almost a year off to be with her and I'm just starting to get back into it again."

"Well dear, that's good for you. It's always good to have dreams and ambitions. I hope everything works out for you. You seem like a sweet woman and anyone that can keep Finn in line is someone high up in my book." Mark slapped Finn on the back and smiled at the young man. Before Finn could say anything, Mark interjected, grinning from ear to ear.

"Say Finn, I have a few extra tickets to a play that my wife has been dying to see. It's next Saturday night and I would really love it if you and the missus would be able to join us."

"What play is it?" Rachel asked, a sparkle gleaming in her chocolate eyes.

"Chicago."

Finn felt Rachel stiffen next to him but it didn't really register in his mind until after he responded.

"We'd love to go." He looked at Rachel, expecting her to be smiling from ear to ear but the only thing he noticed was that her face had gone white and her mouth was opened slightly. He nudged her slightly breaking her out of her reverie. Rachel looked at Mark and smiled politely before excusing herself to go to the ladies room. Finn couldn't help himself, as he watched her walk away.

He really didn't think he did anything wrong. He thought she would be excited that he accepted those tickets from Mark even if he didn't consult her first. As the night wore on, Finn was starting to struggle with the emotions that were coursing through him. He put on a bright smile, pretending that everything was fine and dandy but on the inside he was starting to get real scared. Rachel has not said one word to Finn in over an hour. She barely even acknowledged that he was there and that frightened him more than anything.

Rachel was currently talking to a fellow co-worker's wife (he couldn't remember her name) and she was laughing at something the woman said. Finn couldn't help but smile softly, while watching her, as she brushed her bangs away from her eyes and slid her gaze toward him quickly before looking away. That was all the incentive he needed to stalk over to her, feeling slightly courageous from all the champagne he drank and excused Rachel from the conversation. He stumbled upon a spare bedroom earlier in the night, thinking it was the bathroom, and didn't hesitate to go in there once again with his wife. Shutting the door and locking it behind them, he turned on her with a look of pure anger.

"What the hell, Rach? Why are you so pissed off at me? I thought you would have been happy to get a chance to see this play. I overheard you talking about it with Mercedes a few weeks ago and Mark had an extra pair since his brother bailed. You know he knows the female lead. He went to college with her or something like that. Mark said we could meet the cast after the show if you wanted to. I don't understand what the big deal is?"

Rachel turned her gaze on Finn and he could see the anger burning behind her eyes and something else he couldn't quite seem to put his finger on. Nerves?

"Finn, I'm upset that you didn't ask me first. You just accepted the tickets without knowing what we have to do next weekend. Finn, we don't even have a babysitter."

"Well I don't think that's a problem. Marnie said she would watch Ellie if we ever needed a break."

"Finn, Marnie is 91 years old! Do you really think we can trust her with our daughter? Ellie is rambunctious; she's in her terrible two's. I don't think that's a great idea at all."

Rachel's gaze dropped to the floor before she turned around to gaze out the window. Finn could feel a flicker of something other than anger in his gut. Taking a step toward his wife, who was unusually quiet all of a sudden, he placed a hand on her shoulder before she turned to face him. She didn't look him directly in the eyes. Her gaze was fixed somewhere to the right of his head and he knew she was hiding something.

"Rach, what's going on?" He said softly, placing his other hand on her cheek. "There's something you're not telling me and I don't think this blow up has anything to do with not having a babysitter for Ellie."

She looked at him then and he could see all the different emotions flicker across her face in the matter of a few seconds. Finally, in defeat, Rachel took both of Finn's hands in hers before dropping the bomb on him.

"Finn, please don't get upset, okay? The only reason I don't want to see this show is because someone we once knew, long ago, is playing the male lead." She swallowed nervously.

"Well, who is it Rachel?"

"Jesse ."


	2. Chapter 2

Finn found himself the day of the show, pacing in his office and staring down at people below on the streets. He didn't know why this was bothering him so much. He hasn't seen Jesse in over ten years, a lifetime ago, but the memories that surfaced whenever he thought about that time, made his blood boil still to this day. Even after being with Rachel for so long, Finn still had this need to protect her and when memories of Jesse surfaced, so did memories of her birth mother, Shelby.

Sighing loudly in the comfort of his enclosed office, Finn plopped down on the leather chair and reached for his phone. He needed to make sure she was okay. He scrolled through his contacts quickly, finding Rachel on his speed dial and waited patiently while the phone rang. It went right to voicemail, which Finn found strange. He decided to try her at home knowing she was with Ellie. He got up from the chair and started pacing the length of his office as he called the number again with no luck. Feeling a weird tingling in his belly, Finn knew his intuition was telling him something was wrong. Grabbing his jacket and briefcase that were resting on the visitor chairs in front of his desk, Finn ran out of the room as quickly as possible. Stopping only to tell the secretary that he was taking his lunch break, Finn ran out to his car and sped home, praying the whole way that Rachel was okay.

The half hour drive to their apartment took Finn twenty minutes and fortunately no speeding tickets from New York's finest. He jogged up the stairs of the apartment building, taking two steps at a time. Opening the door to their apartment, Finn was struck with a weird feeling again. It was unusually quiet when he knew that both his wife and daughter were home. Placing his jacket and bag on the lounger by the television, Finn moved quietly through the living room, listening for any sound that may help him locate his family. Venturing down the hallway, Finn walked past his bedroom door and was heading for Ellie's room when he heard a strangled cry. With his senses on full alert, he back peddled toward their bedroom. Looking inside, the room was empty but he could see a light shining from the crack underneath the bathroom door. Taking two long strides across the room, Finn opened the bathroom door and almost couldn't believe what he saw.

"Rach, my god, are you okay? What's wrong?" Finn ran to her, collapsing in a heap on the floor beside her. He put his arms around her and pulled her shaking form onto his lap. She was sobbing loudly now and trying to muffle the sounds by burying her head in Finn's shoulder but failing miserably. She gripped his shirt tightly and cried as Finn rocked her back and forth, murmuring quietly in her ear, doing anything to sooth her. After a few moments, Rachel's sobbing turned into soft whimpering and Finn took that as a good sign. Gently and slowly, Finn released Rachel from his hold and moved so he could look at her. She looked heartbreakingly beautiful to him but he knew it would be inappropriate to tell her that now. Her tears left black streaks running down her blotchy cheeks and her usual perfectly styled hair was knotty and wild.

"Babe, what's going on with you? Is everything okay? Where's Ellie?"

Rachel sniffled as she wiped away a few tears off her face.

"Ellie's in her room taking a nap. She was exhausted."

Finn internally sighed in relief. Their daughter was safe so the reason for her tears were something else entirely. He moved a few strands of hair out of her eyes and smiled tentatively.

"Rachel, what's wrong? Why the tears?"

"Finn, I was putting Ellie to bed and before I kissed her goodnight, she told me she loved me. For some reason that got to me and I just couldn't control my emotions. After I left her room, I came in here to take a shower but I never made it. I've been crying for over twenty minutes and, and, it just hurts so much Finn." The tears started to trickle down her cheeks again and Finn brushed them away with his thumb.

"Is it Jesse?" Finn asked quietly.

"Yes….no…kind of. You know I have no feelings for him Finn, but I can't help but hurt whenever I see him or even think about him because whenever I do think about him, I think about my mo-Shelby. It's been so long since I've seen her or even spoken to her but it still hurts and it will always hurt." She took a deep shaky breath before continuing. "I don't want Ellie to ever feel the pain that I've been through with Shelby. It hurts too much Finn."

"Rachel, please look at me." Finn placed his hand underneath her chin and brought her face close to his. He looked her in the eyes and she could see the passion burning intensely behind the sadness. "Rach, Ellie will never feel the emotions and feelings that you've felt with Shelby. Ellie has the most beautiful, caring, thoughtful, loving, selfless mother in all New York. She knows that you love her and you'll always be there for her. Even now when she's only two years old, who brings Ellie her glass of water at night?"

Finn smiled softly at Rachel noticing that the tears had stopped. She gave him a watery smile back and took another shaky breath before kissing Finn tenderly.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear after breaking the kiss. "You always know what to say."

He smiled against her hair and placed a kiss on her temple before looking at her again.

"Rachel, we don't have to go to this play if you don't want to."

She shook her head abruptly. "No, I'm going with you tonight. I don't care if I have to see him. I'll be okay Finn."

"Are you sure Rach?"

She smiled brightly at him even though some of the sadness was still lingering in her heart.

"Yes. I'm sure."


End file.
